Anas exposé: GFA petitions FIFA over dissolution by government

The Ghana Football Association has formally written a petition to world football governing body, FIFA, over Ghana’s government’s plans to dissolve the association and bring reforms in the light of revelations from the Anas Aremeyaw Anas exposé.

The 24-page petition was signed by 17 members of the FA’s Executive Committee and was dated June 29.

The document contains 143 points of arguments from the GFA stating that government erred in its application to the High Court for the dissolution and that, a dissolution of the FA is not possible and also, that remaining members of the FA’s Executive Committee can put in place reforms without the normalisation committee being proposed by FIFA after its discussion with the Government of Ghana in Accra and Zurich.

The petition explained that government’s application for an injunction to the court contained an error in naming Kwesi Nyantakyi as a director of the FA, which had been registered as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act 1963.

The application was filed on June 12 but Mr. Nyantakyi resigned on June 8 and was no longer part of the FA.
The petition also stated that those who were seen in the Anas tape allegedly taking part in corrupt acts needed to be determined as being corrupt by a competent court and that had not been done yet.

The document also states that government cannot dissolve the FA on its accord since it does not contribute to the running of the association. The document defines the FA as being “autonomous and not being reliant on government funds or logistical support.”



The petition also contends that the government’s argument to wind the FA up based on overriding public interest cannot hold since the FA or its members have not been deemed by a court to have used the entity for wrong doing.
The petition also adds that the government’s plans of dissolution is wrong because if an entity or a company is is found guilty of acting wrongly, dissolution is not the remedy. Rather, the officers behind the company are made to face the law.

The document said that the members of the FA’s Executive Committee who had not been affected by the Exposé were preparing to roll out reforms for the FA.

The document suggested the rest of the Executive Committee should be given 6 months to implement reforms to restore confidence in the FA and in the process, elect a new President and Vice-President since those positions are currently vacant.